Sorting machine



L. L. LADD.

SORTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED ocT. I7. I92I.

Fatened Oct. 241i, 1922.

SHEETS-SHEET I.

w IIII 'grl S1 AAIIIIIIIIIIIIQWmgIII L. L. LADD.

somme MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED CT|17| i921.. 1,432,762., Patented00h24, E922.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. L. LADD.

SOHTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. II. 1921.

1.432,?62., Patented OCI, 24, 1922.

FSHEETS-SHEET 3.

L. L. LADD.

SRTINVG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. II. IszI.

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SORTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0cT.17. 1921.

Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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' L. L. LAnn.

SORTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. II. 192|.

1,432,763. Patented Oct. 24, 1922.,

L. L. LADD.

SORTING MACHINE.

APPLicATloN FILED ocT.1?. 1921.

l SZ., Patented 0ct. 24, 1922.

S-HEETSNSHEET 7.

fig/1 Patented oci. 24, i922.

ilABZtZ UNET TATES PATENT @FFHCEO Y LESTER L. LADD, OE" LOCKIORT,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR IO PHO'IOIVIETRIC APRODUCTS CORPORATION, CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

SORTING MACHINE.

Application filed October 17, 1921.

To` all whom it may coacem Be it known that I, LESTER L. LADD, a citizenof the United States, residing at Lockport, in the county of lVill andState of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSorting Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specication. y f

This invention relates to sorting machines and more particularly7 to amachine for automatically sorting cigars according to color.

The invention relates to a machine for selecting articles in, accordancewith the color or shade thereof and depositing them at certainpredetermined stations so as to assemble all the articles of apredetermined color or shade in one place.

The invention further relates to a machine whereby articles of variousshades or colors are moved from a hopper into the range of aphoto-electric cell and associated devices and are then carried tocertain predetermined stations or dumping points in accordance with theeffect produced on said Cell, by the color or shade, of the article.

It is a purpose. of the invention to provide a sorting machine of theabove mentioned character that is capable of accurate yselecting orgrading articles according to color into a large number of groups wherethe difference in shade or coloring of the different groups is veryslight, and to provide a compact machine of this character that iscapable of sorting articles in accordance with differences of color thatare barely perceptible to the eye. The present invention operatesaccording to the same general principles as the device shown in mycopending application, Serial No. 419,848, tiled Oct. 2T, 1920, overwhich thepresent invention is an improvement.

It is a further purpose of the invention to provide a machine having ahopper for receiving the articles to be sorted with means for movingsaid articles successively, one at a time, into the range of a selectingdevice. and with means for carrying said articles away from saidselecting device, after said articles have influenced said selectingdevice, said means being provided Serial N0. 508,410.

with means set while the article is influencing the selecting device,whereby said carriers are actuated to discharge said articles intoreceiving chutes atpredetermined statlions, each of' said chutesdischarging said articles at a different point, thus collecting' all thearticles of a given color or shade a one point. It is still a furtherpurpose of the invention to provide a machine having a hopper into whicharticles of various colors and shades can be dumped indiscriminately and.fed automatically one at a time from said hopper to a mechanism thatautomatically sorts said articles and deposits them at predeterminedstations sothat articles of only one shade or color are deposited ateach station.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide new andimproved feeding mechanism for said 'machine whereby fragile articlescan be fed one at a time to said machine without injury thereto, toprovide a feeding mechanism that will deposit said articles alwaysinsubstantially the same position on the means for moving the same intocooperative relation with said selecting mechanism, and to provide amember for moving said articles into cooperative relation with saidselecting mechanism, that will receive the articles from the feedingmechanism without damaging the same.

It `is stil'l'"another purpose of the invention to provide means fordelivering the article that has been moved into cooperative relationwith said selecting mechanism to suitable article carriers which areadapted to carry the articles to a discharge station and discharge saidarticles at the proper station without damage or injury tothe articles,thus collecting all the articles of a particular shade or color at thedischarge station Vfor Said shade or color. o

It is a further object of the invent-ion to provide suitable selectingmechanism actuated by a photo-electric celland associated devices,whereby articles are selected in accoi-dance with the influence theyhave on said cell, and to so construct the selecting mechanism as toprovide a large number of selections without unnecessarily multiplyingthe parts of the machine, and it is a parvice described in the abovementioned copending application. rlhis is preferably accomplished byproviding a plurality of discharge positions for the carriers at each.

discharge station, so as to discharge the articles in a plurality ofdifferent directions at each statlion. By increasing the number ofangular positions of the carriers for each station the number ofstations and the number of carriers required for a desired numlber ofselections can be reduced.

It is moreover an object of the invention to provide a machine forselecting cigars according to color, wherein the cigars are fed one at atime from a hopper to a carrier that is adapted to move said cigars intoposition adjacent a photo-electric cell, and are transferred from saidcarrier to one of a plurality of traveling carriers that are adapted todischarge their contents at any one of a plurality of stations,dependent upon the color thereof, and in a plurality of differentdiirections at each station, also dependent upon the color of thearticle.

It is also an object of the invention to provide traveling carriers ofthe above mentioned character, that travel always in the same horizontalpath and which are adapted to dump by the action of gravity, and whichare held in article carrying posit'ion without the use of spring catchesor the like, thus simplifying the device, and y providing a structurewherein the article carriers will not dump accidentally. v

It is a further purpose of the invention to provide means independent ofthe travel ing carriers to present the articles to the selecting device,whereby said carriers can be greatly simplified in structure.

It is another object of the invention to providenew and improved meansfor light ing the article when it is in position adjacent thephoto-electric cell.

VIt 'is also an object of the invention to provide carriers orf theabove -mentioned character that are adapted to be swung to .a pluralityof different angular positions about a vertical axis, in accordance withthe effect produced by the articles thereon, on a photo-electric celloperating a selecting device associated therewith, and to provide iardmeans for preventing the articles rom being thrown off the carriers bythe swinging movement thereof.

It is still a further purpose of the invention to provide a selectingdevice of the above mentioned character having a hopper from whicharticles to be selected are dis-l charged one at a time and are carriedby a vertically operating carrier to a selecting device comprising aphoto-electric cell, said carrier .discharging the articles carriedthereby onto one of a plurality' of carriers moving in a horizontalcircular path below said hopper and selecting device.

It is a further purpose vof the invention to provide a plurality ofarticle carriers of the above mentioned character adapted to dischargearticles at predetermined points in accordance with the selections of aselecting device, which carriers are mounted to turn about a verticalpivot so as to assume a plurality of angular positions in accordancewith the effect produced on the selecting device by the article carriedthereby, said carriers being provided with overbalanced article holderswhich are adapted to swing ona horizontal pivot, said holders beingprovided with means for normally holding the same in article carrying byswitches, said switches being opened todump said holders in accordancewith the effect produced `on the selecting device by the article carriedby the particular carrier to bc dumped. Said track is also provided withmeans for returning said holders to article carrying position.

' ()ther.olijects and advantages of the invention will appear as the`description of the accompanying drawings showing one forni that in vinvention 'may take proceeds. However. I desire to have itdistinctlyundeerstood that I do not 'intend to limit myself tothe details shown inthe drawings aud described in the specification, but that I desire toinclude as part of my invention all such obvious changes in structureand modifications of parts as would occur to a person skilled in thisart and as would fall within the scope of the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved machine, parts thereof beingbroken away;

Fig. 2 is a section thereof taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 3 is a. section taken on theline 3 3 of Fig. 2, certain parts beingshown in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 1f-4 of Fig. 2; u

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fi 4;

ig.' 6 is a section taken on line 6 6 of Fia. 4; i

- Fig. 7 is afragmentary detail section taken on the line 7 7 ,of Fig.2;

lFig. 8 is a section takenV on line 8 8 of Fig. l; l

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail view of the feedingv mechanism at the mouthof the hopper;

Fig. l0 is a detail view of the switch mechanism for the supportingrail;

Fig. 11 isafragmentary plan view of the selector;

Fig. 12 is a diagram of the electrical connections controlled thereby,and

Fig. 13 is a section-taken on line 13-13, Fig. 1, showing a carrier indumping position in dotted lines.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the improved sorting machinecomprises a framework having a base portion 20 provided with anupstanding member 21 in which is journaled the vertically extendingshaft 22, said shaft being held in place by means of the nut 23, betweenwhich and the member 21 is interposed a. washer 24. The shaft 22 isprovided with an enlarged portion 25 forming a shoulder at 26 whichrests on the upper surface 27 of the member 2l. The shaft 22 is alsoprovided with a reduced portion 29 upon which is mounted a cap or washer30. which is held in place by means of the nut 31 provided on the upperend of the shaft 22. A sleeve 33 extends around the shaft 25 at theenlarged portion thereof, and surrounding the sleeve 33 is thesleeve-like portion 34 of the gear member 35 which is provided withsuitable teeth 36 and suitable recesses 37 cooperating with thesleeve-like member 38 on the crank arm 39 mounted on the shaft 40 so asto give 4a. step by step movement to said gear 35.

The shaft 40 is provided with a gear 41 which meshes with the gear 42 onthe drive shaft 43, said shaft being provided with a. clutch 44 operatedby the clutch operating lever 45 pivoted to the framework at 46, saidclutch 44 connecting vthe member 47 with the cooperating member 47 ondrivin pulley 48 which is free on the shaft 43.

ounted on the sleeve-like portion 34 of the gear 35 to rotate therewithis the sleevelike member 49 which forms the hub of a circular table thatis adapted to rotate about a vertical-axis. The table is made somewhatin the form of a wheel and has web or spokelike portions 50 connectingthe-hub portion 49 with the peripheral or rim portion 51 thereof. Itwill thus be seen that the circular table comprising the members 49, 50and 51 will'rotate with a step by step movevment about the shaft 25together with the gear 35. The peripheral portion 51 of the circulartable is provided with a plurality of openings 52 spaced equi-distantlyaround the same, and mounted in each of the'openings is a pivot pin 53for pivotally mounting `the supporting bracket 54 having the arms 55 and56 extending respectively above and below the peripheral portion 51,said arms being provided with openings that align is substantiallvhorizontal.

with the openings 52 in the portion 51 of the table. The bracket 54 isalso provided with a verticall extending portion 57 which extends upwarly'from the main bod)v portion of the bracket 54 and with a horizontallyextending upper portion 58 whiclris provided with a transversehorizontally extending opening 59 through whichthe pivot pin 60 extends,said pivot pin pivotally supporting the article carrier 61 thereon.

The article carrier 61 is provided-with an article holding member 62 andwith a depending projection 63, the pivot pin 60 extending through saidprojection 63 to pivot the member 61 on the arm 58. The lower end of themember 63 is provided with a roller 64, said roller 64 engaging with theflange or rib 65 forming a track for guidin the same. The track or rib65 is pro- .vi ed with the brackets or feet 66 which are mounted on theplate-like member 67, said' plate-like member 67 being mounted on thelegs 68 extending upwardly from the base portion 2O of the framework. Itwill be noted that the members 62 project a considerable distance to oneside of the pivots 60, thus overbalancing the article carriers andcausing the rollers 64 to engage the side wall 69 of the track or rib65. As will be clear from Fig. 1 the track `or guide rib 65 is annularin form and it will also be evident from Fig. 2 thatsaid rib acts as asupport for the article holder to hold the same in article carryingposition, that is, in such position that the article holding portion 62thereof L If the support were removed, then the article carriers wouldtilt to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 13, thus causing thearticle carried by the member 64 to be discharged therefrom. It will beclear upon reference' to Fig. 3 that the article holding portion 62 ischanneled being preferablycurved to a substantially semi-circular form,as shown in Fig. 3, in order to accommodate an article,such as a cigarthat is elongated and substantially circular in cross section with theaxis of the article parallel with the axis of the holder. The articlecarriers are mounted so that the holders' thereof extend in a .radialdirection normally as shown in Fig. 1, and they are arranged in spacedrelation about the periphery of the table or supporting member.

'Pivoted to the rib or track 65 by means of the pivot pins 70 are theswitch mem- .bers 71, said switch members 71 being positioned in cutoutportions of the track 65 so having the position as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 5. The opening of the switches is selectively controlled by aselecting device which is operated by the effect produced upon aphoto-electric cell by the color of the article that is carried by theparticular artil cle carrier which is dumped by the switch actuated bythe selecting device.

The articles to be sorted are placed in the hopper 72 which is supportedupon a standard 73 and which is provided with a false bottom 74 whichextends parallel to the bottom 75 of the hopper. rl`he false bottom 74is mounted for short reciprocatingmovements parallel to the bottom 75.The reciprocations are obtained by means of a structure similar to thatshown in my copending application, Serial No. 419,848, filed Oct. 27,1920 and allowed Feb. 12, 1921, said application showing an eccentricmounted on the shaft corresponding to the shaft 43 for this purpose. Theforward end of the hopper 72l is provided with an upstanding bracket 76which has pivotally mounted thereon the link 77, said link 77 beingpivoted thereto intermediate the ends thereof. The lower end of the link77 is pivoted to an ear 78 on the false bottom 74 and at the upper endthereof the link 77 is mounted ona transversely extending shaft 78 whichextends through the sleeve 79,' said sleeve. 79 extending through ablock 8 0 mounted on the sheet metal member 81 having the portion 82extending substantially parallel to the false bottom 74 and joined withthe vertically extending portion thereof by means of the curved portion83. The opposite end of the shaft 78 is mounted on the link 77'corresponding to the link 77, said link being pivoted to the member 74in any desired manner. It will be evident that as the member 74 movesback and forth that the link 77 will swing first in one direction andthen in the opposite direction so as to give the memberf81 areciprocatingl and swinging movement, so that as the 'member 74 movesforwardly toward the opened end of the hopper, the member 81 will swingcounteri clockwise with* the sleeve 79 and block 80 and will 4moveslightly away from the mem- -ber 74 at the lower end 82-thereof, whilewhen the member/74 is moved away from the open 'end of the hopper, theopposite movement of the member 81 will take place causing the member 82to move downwardly toward the member 74 and also in the direction of themember 74. Due to the fact that the member 82 is inclined somewhatrelative to the member 74, and due to the curved portion 83, thearticles in the hopper will smooth' out so that a single layer will reston the bottom 74 adjacent the lower eXtremity 84 thereof, andaccordingly when the member 82 is moved away from the member 74, as saidmember 74 moves downwardly,

so as to prevent a cigar from passing be-' tween the same and the member74 when one cigar has passed through the. opening between said members.The cigar'then passes down the inclined runway or lip portion 85provided on the hopper and engages with the holding members or teeth 86,one of said articles being shown at 87 in such position in Fig. 3 of thedrawings. The members 86, aswill be clear from Fig. 3, are pivoted tothe member 85, a pluralityof said members being. provided, as will beclear from Fig. 2. The members 86v are mounted on a common shaft 88 soas to rotatetherewith and are provided with curved portions 89 in whichthe article is adapted to seat so as to be held securely in place. Oneof the members 86 is provided with a rearward extension or linger 90,which is adapted to be engaged by the end portion 91 of the slide 92.

It will be-evident from Fig. 9 that as the y slide 92 moves upwardlythe. end portion 91 will engage with the finger 90 and will rotate theshaft 88 in a counterclockwise direction, moving the members 86 to theposition shown in Fig. 9. thus releasing the cigar or other article 87.The showing in Fig. 9 is the reverse of that shown in Fig. 3, so thatthe movement in Fig. 3 would be in a clockwise direction or downwardlytoward the projecting teeth or spaced fingers 93 at the terminus of themember 85. Slide 92 is pivoted at 94 to the link 95, which link ,isbolted at 96 to the vertically extending arm 97. The arm 97 slidesvertically between the guide members 98 and 99, and is provided at thelower end thereof with aroller 100, which roller engages with thesurface of the cam 101 mounted on the shaft 40, as will be clear fromFigs. 2 and 3. it will be evident fronirsaid figures that as the sha-ft40 rotates, the cam 101 will cause the arm or rod 97 to reciprocate in avertical direction, carrying with it the arm and the link 92.y A spring102 sec-ured to the arm 95 at 103 and to the standard 104 at the otherend thereof, said standard being mounted on the base 20, is provided forthe purpose of holding the roller in engagement with the cam 101, saidspring being secured to the standard 104 at 105, asshown in Fig. 3.Extending betweenl the link 92- and the upper end of the arm 94 is aspring 106 which tends to pull the link 92 toward the' arm 97. Anadjustable stop member 107 is provided on the bracket 108 for limitingthe movement of the member 92 toward the any desired position. .videdwith a recess or notch 111, which is with a lock nut 110 for locking'the same in The link 92 is proprovided with curved faces 112 and 113joining the wall thereof `with the side wall of the member' 92,

It will -be seenfrom Fig. 3 that when the low portion 114 of the cam 101is in engagement with the roller 100. the arm 97 will be 1n its lowestlposition carrying with it the link 92. lVhen the member 92 is in thisposition the `end portion 91 thereof will engage with Athe rearwardextension 90 of the mem- .ber 86, thus causing the member 86 to tilt to87 thereimsaid fingers being curved to conform substantially to theshape of thecigar 87. lVhen thev parts are in the lowermost position,the fingers or tines 116 will be below the fingers or tines 93, andthese fingers are positioned so that they will pass through the spacesbetween the fingers 93l in passing up or down relative to the same. Asthe parts are. again moved upwardly after the roller 10() reaches thelow part of the cam,

the fingers 116 will pass between the fingers 93 and will pickup the'cigar' that is on said fingers and carry the same upwardly on thelingers 116. As the parts move upwardly the` projection 90 will enterthe recess 111 and will permit thefingers 86 to again assume theposition shown in Fig. 3.

It will be seen upon reference to Figs. 9 and 3 that the members 86 areprovided with counterweights 117 which tend to move the same in aclockwise direction in Fig. 9. The member 117 is provided with a rearcurved face 118 which conforms to the curved cut-- out portion 119 inthel member hi. 'lhe curved portion terminates in a shouh-ler 120, whichis adapted te-engage'the shoulder 121 on the member 85 to limit themovement of the member 86 in a counterclockwisc direction in Fig. 3. Aspreviously stated. when the member 92 moves upwardly the projectingpo-rtion 90 of the member 86 enters the recess 111 and the member 86assumes the posit-ion shown in Fig. 3 so as to be in position toreceive. the next cigar 87 thereon Jfrom the hopper 72. Then the member97 moves downwardly, the member 86 is not disturbed' as the proj ect-ingend portion 91 of' the. mem ber' 92 will slide over the curved rear faceof the tooth or projection 90 without moving the same. Positioned abovethe end portion of the hopper is the. casing 121 which contains a:photo-electric cell which is adapted to accommodate the selectingdevice. The

casing is provided with a central vertically extending'opening 122 whichallows the light obtained from the bulbs, which are located in therecesses 123 after the same has been reflected from the cigar, to passupwardly in the casing so as to affect the photo-electric cell. of.' thecasing is provided with a flange 124 depending therefrom, which isprovided with guide fingers 125 for guiding the members 116 in theirupward movement, and the casing is also provided with a block o r plate126 which is positioned over the opening in the lower end of the casing,and is provided with suitable openings for allowing the reflected lightfrom the cigar' to pass therethrough, said plate servingI to expose thesame area of each of t-he articles to the photo-electric cell. Themember 126 is held in place by means of the spring strap 127 and isprovided witha curved recessed portion 128 on the under-face thereofadapted to receive the cigar 87. As the fingers 116 again passdownwardly as the member 97 moves downwardly due to the engagement ofthe roller 10() with the lower portion of the 'cam 101, the same willpass be tween the fingers 93, which as will be clear from Fig. 3, areinclined at an angle so as to form an inclined plane or chute, and thecigar 87 will be left behind on the inclined ngers 93 from which it willroll offl onto the article carrier 62, which is in the position shown inFig. 3 at this time.

It will thus be clear that as the member 116 moves upwardly and reachesa position so that the same is passing through the fingers 93, themember 86 will be tilted to release a cigar 87 and permit the same tomove onto the fingers 116 which will be in a position at that time tocatch the same- Then the cigar is moved upwardly to the position shownat 87 in Fig. 3 where it affects the photo-electric. cell within thecasing 121 so as to accommodate Selecting devices which willbe describedsubsequently. After the cigar remains in vthis position a sufficientlength of time to affectthe cell, the time being governed by the len hof the high portion of the cam 101, the ngers 116 will again movedownwardly and in passing between the fingers 93 discharge the cigaronto the article carrier 62, the article carrier 62 being stationary asthe step by step mechanism is not actuated the same when the cigar isdischarged from the member 93, it being clear that as the 'step by stepmechanism is actuated by the rotation of the shaft 40, and as the cam101 is keyed to said shaft. the relationship of the cam and partsoperated thereby to the step by stepy mechanism can be positivelyadjusted so that the relationship thereof is unvarying in the operationof the machine. illhen the cigar is in the position shown for the cigar87 in Fig. 3, so as to vaffect the photo-electric cell, the current settacts 132 are provided and six contacts 133,

there being ive contacts 132 opposite each contact 133. It is, otcourse, understood that any desired arrangement may be used. 0f course,by providing a number of contacts 132 `opposite each contact 133, thatis, apl'iroximately the same as the number of contacts 133 employed, theduplication of mechanical parts can be the most advantageously reduced,the arrangement of the contacts being made for the purpose ofmultiplying the discharge points at each discharge 'station so as toreduce the number of carriers and the number of discharge stationsrequired in the device. The operating circuit for the sorting devicescomprises the positive and negative line wires 134 and 135 respectively,a switch 136 being provided in 'the line 135 to make and break thecircuit as desired. In the present instance'the circuit is mechanicallymade and broken, as will be described subsequently. Branching of fromthe line' wire 135 is a plurality of leads 136 and a lead 136', theleads 136 each being provided with an electromagnet 137 for operatingcerta-in sorting devices interposed between the line wire 135 andcontacts 133. The wire 136' leads to the contact 133 at one end of thecell directly without passing through an electromagnet or solenoid. InFig. 12 one ot the contacts 133 is shown as being opposite five contacts132.

Referring now to Fig. 12, it will be noted that Contact No. 1 of eachset is provided with a lead 138 connecting the same with a common leadwire 139, which is connected directly with the wire 140 whichleads tothe switch 136; that contact No. 2 of each set is connected with a lead141 which connects with a wire 142 leading to the solenoid 143 toroperating certain sorting mechanism, and which is connected as shown inFig. 12 with a wire 140. Contact No. 3 of each set is connected with alead 144, all of said leads 144' leading to the common wire 145connecting the same in series with the solenoid 146, the other end of"which is connected with the wire 140. Contact No. 4 4of each set isprovided with a lead 147, all ot which are connected to a commonconnecting wire 150, which has connected in series therewith thesolenoid 151 operating certain sorting devices, the other end of whichis connected with the wire 140. Contact No. 5 of each set is providedwith the lead wire 152 connecting with a common wire 153 which hasconnect-ing therewith in series the solenoid 154 operating certainsorting devices, and the other end ot' said solenoid being connectedwith a wire 140.

lt will thus be seen that as the contact member 131 moves along betweenthe contacts 133 and 132 that various solenoids 137 and a suitablesolenoid 143, 146, 151 or 154 as the case may be, will be energizeddepending upon the position of said cont-act member, or if the contactImember is in position opposite one of the contacts numbered l, only asolenoid 137 will be energized, while if the Contact member 131 isopposite the Contact member 133 connected with the wire 136', only oneof the solenoids 143, 146, 151 or 154 is energized. If the contactmember 131 is in position opposite contact No. 1. of the series that isopposite the contact 133 connected with the wire 136', no solenoid willbe energized. The purpose of this is that certain of the sorting devicesoperate positively for one sorting position when no electromagneticoperated devices are actuated. The articles that affectthe needle so aslto place the contact 131 opposite contact No. 1 at the left of Fig. 12will be discarded by the machine as they will be discharged at a pointywhere no sorting occurs, thus 29 selections remain for the devicedescribed above.

The indicating instrument is also provided with stop members 155 and 156to limit the movement of the needle 129 when the articles that cooperatewith theA photoelectric cell so as to effect the same are out of therange of selections of the machine. The stop members 155 and 156 alsoserve as contact members to cooperate with the moving contact 131.Opposite said stops are provided cooperating contact members 157, 158,said contact members 157, 158, being electrically connected by means ofthe wire 149. Similarly the stops 155 and 156 are electrically connectedby the wire 160. The stops 155 and-156 are also electrically connectedwith the Contact 133 at the lett of Fig. 12 bymeans of a wire 161,andthe cooperating contacts 157 and 158 are connected with contact No. 1of the series cooperating with said contact 133 by means of the wire162. Thus, it will be seen that if the contact member 131 is held in theextremev position indicatedv at 131 in Fig. 12 or in the extremeposition indicated at 131 at the opposite side of the instrument,Contact must be made either through the members 155 and 157 with t-hecontact 133 referred to above andthe contact member 1 cooperatingtherewith, or through the members 156 and 158 in a similar manner so asto actuate the sorting devices in the same way as though the movingcontact member 131 were in position between said member 183 and thecontact member 1 cooperating therewith., The position of the parts issuch in the actual machine that all articles out of the range of theinstrument are discharged before reaching the sorting points of themachine, the first dumping position being that controlled by the con.-tacts referred to above, this being 'the position discarding thearticles that are out of .the range of the machine.

Y lVhen t-he article that is to be sorted is moved into cooperativerelationship with the photo-electric cell to operate the selectingdevice, two sets of devices are set so as to be opera-ted at the propertime for discharging the article at the desired point selected inaccordance with the effect of the article upon the photo-electric cell.The article carrier is stationary when the article is effecting thecell, and when the article is received on the article carrier 64 that isin proper position for this purpose. However, the selecting devices willbe operated at this time. One setof selecting devices that controls thestations at which the article is to be discharged comprises a pluralityof stop pins 163, 164, 165, 166 and 167, each of said pins beingprovided with a head 168.- rlhe stop pins referred to are arranged insets, there being one set associated with each article carrier 62, saidpins being mounted in a block 169 and being slidable vertically therein,said block being mounted on an arm 170 secured to the peripheral or rimportion 51 of the rotating table. The framework of the machine isprovided with a circular table 171 mounted on the leg 68. rl`he table171 is provided with a plurality of openings 172 through which theplungers 173, 174, 175, 176` and 177 pass, the plungers 173 beingradially spaced the same distance from the center of the machine as thepin 163, and the plungers and pins 174 and 164, 175 and'165,

,176 and 166, and 177 and 167 having the same relationship.

Referring now to Fig. 8, one of the pins 166 is shown enlargedapproaching into cooperative relation with the plunger 176. The pin 166,as will be clear from Fig. 8, eX- tcnds through an opening 178 in themember 169 and projects slightly therebeyond when in the position shownin Fig. 8. The pin 166 is in its loweimost position when in the positionshown in Fig. 8 and the said pin is provided witlra shoulder 179 whichrests against the projecting portion 180 of the plate 181 so as toprevent further downward movement of said pin. The member 169 is alsoprovided with a horizontally extending bore 182 within which is mount/eda compression spring 183 and a ball 184. The pin 166 is also providedwith a groove 185 within which the ball 184 is adapted to seat when thepin is projected upwardly so that the groove is in line with the bore182. The plunger 176 is provided with a head 186 which is engaged by theextreme end portion of the lever 187 which is pivoted to the plate 188,which is secured to the member 67, and is stationary with the frameworkof the machine. The lever 187 is pivoted on a horizontally extendingpivot 189 on the bracket 190 secured by means of the bolt 191 to saidplate 188. The bracket also carries the solenoid 137 which is adapted toattract the armature 192 mounted on the rear end portion 193 of thelever 187. The other plungers 173, 174, 175 and 177 are operated in thesame manner as the plunger 176. It will be evident from Fig. 8 that whenthe armature 192 is drawn down by the solenoid 137 that the plunger 176will move to the dotted position shown in Fig. 8. The pin 168 will,however, then be in position directly above the plunger 176, the member169 moving in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 8, thus the pin166 will be raised the distance from the full line position to vthedottedline position of the member 176 which will cause the groovedportion 185 to vbe moved opposite the ball 184. The ball 184 will thenseat in the groove and hold the pin 166 in raised position.

In order to insure that no other pin than the pin 166 will be in raisedposition after `the beveled face 195 to Aprovide a ridge or corner 196spaced at such a distance from the member 169 that the pins 166 will beforced downwardly by engagement with such edge 196 which extendstransversely across the path of movement of all said pins so that allthe pins are in their lowermost position as shown for the pins 168. lnorder that the plungers will all be in their downward position as shownin full lines for the plunger 176 in Fig. 8, the members 169 areprovided with a depending portion 197 which has a beveled edge 198 thatengages with the plungers, the plungers being forced down until theyengagewith the corner 199 which is spaced from the plate 171 such adistance that the plungers will be in retracted position after the edge199 is passed over the same. It is, of course, to be understood that theplunger is actua-ted by the selecting device dependent upon the positionot the needle 129 and the Contact member 131 in accordance with theeffect of the cigar on the the stop pin 163 being the shortest and thestop pin 167 being the longest and the lengths of the other pins vary instepped rela-tion between said end pins. The member 194 is accordinglyalso provided with stepped beveled edges 195, this being necessary inorder to properly position the pins 166 when in their depressedposition. As previously stated the rib or track 65 is provided with aplurality of switches 71 which are mounted to turn with the pivots 70which are rotatably mounted in the trac-k 65. The lower ends of the pinscarry arms that are adapted to turn therewith, said arms being ofdifferent lengths and of different shapes at different sorting stationsabout the machine. Each of the arms is" provided with a horizontallyextending part 200, a

' diagonally downwardly extending part 201 and horizontally 202.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the arm 203 is shorterthan any of the other arms, the arms 204, 205` 206 and 207 graduallyincreasing in length. The arms are also depressed different distancesbelow the portions 200, the arm 203 being deextending lower portionsvpressed to ay greater extentthan any of the other arms, and the arm 207being depressed the least, the others being depressed in steppedrelation between the amount of depression of the arm 203 and of the arm207. If the stop pin 163 associated with any carrier is raised, it willengage with the arm 203 and the carrier will be discharged at the firstsorting station, as will be clear from Fig. 1, the roller 64 associatedwith said carrier moving into the opening provided inthe track 65 whenthe switch blade 208 moves clockwise in Fig. 1 due to the engagement ofthe pin 163 with the member 203. After the roller has passed in back ofthe blade 208 the tension spring 209 will again return the switch to itsfull line position shown in Fig. 10. The roller 64 will then, however,be on the inner side of the rib or track 65. l/Vhen the carrier 62 ismoving to this position, the depending portion 63 will engage with thespring clip 210 provided on the boss 211 provided on the bracket 57 asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 13. In a similar mannerthe pin 164 willengage with the arm or lever 204 to dump the article carrier Carryingthe cigar that will affect the selectingr device in a manner to projectsaid pin, and the arms 205, 206 and 207 will be operated by thecorresponding pins in a. similar manner. f In order to obtain anadditional selection without the use of the plungers, stop pins, andvelectromagneticdevices referred to, a positive dumping position isprovided following the position at the arm or lever 207, said positivedumping-position beingy provided by terminating t-he curved rail ortrack 65 at 212, the end portion being beveled as will be clear fromFig. 1. It will thus be seen that as any given carrier moves around themachine that it will be dumped l by the engagement of one of the stoppins associated with the same with one of the levers that operatethe'switches or by dropping off the end of the rail at 212. Upon movingfurther the roller on the carrier will engage with the 'inwardly turnedend portion 213 of the rail at the other end thereof and will move alongtheinclined surface 214, whereby the roller is disengaged from thespring clip 210 and again moved to the outside of the curved rail or rib65, whereupon the/carrier 62 assumes the full line position shown inFigs. 2 and 5; The selecting device described above would only provide asmall number of selections, and in order to multiply these selectionssuitable mechanism is provided which is adapted to turn the articlecarriers to a plurality of different positions at each station, saidarticle carriers turning about a vertical axis. As previously statedeach of the article carriers is mounted on a bracket which pivots aboutthe' pin 53 on the rim 51 of the revolving table. The lower arm 56 ofthe bracket is provided with a lug 215 which is adapted .to engage isany one of the plurality of grooves or tracks in the plate 67, saidgrooves being numbered 216, 217, 218, 219 and 220 in the drawings.Anynumber 0f these grooves or tracks may be provided depending upon thenumber of selections desired and the number of multiplicationsv at eachstation desired. A`s previously stated, the most advantageousarrangement to reduce the number of parts in the machine is to make thenumber of multiplications and the number of sorting stations as nearlyequal as possible for the number of selections desired. It will be seenthat if the roller or lug 215 is in the lowermost track or groove 216,the article carrier will be turned to one extreme angular positionrelative to the radial position thereof. Then the lug 215 is in thegroove 217 the carrier will be in an intermediate angular positionrelative to the radial between the radial position and the positionassumed Vwhen the lug is in the groove 216. When the lug is in thegroove or track 218 the carrier will be in radial position, and when inthe groove 219 in an intermediate angular-position opposite that when inthe groove 217, and when the lug is in the groove 220, the articlecarrier will be in the opposite extreme angular position. Thus fivedifferent angular positions of the carrier are provided at each sortingstation. There being six sorting stations and five positions at eachstation there will be thirty selections in the present machine. However,as the first position is a discarding position for all articles notwithin the range of the machine there are only 29 actual selectionsprovided.

In order to guide the roller into the proper groove in accordance withthe effect of the article on the 'photo-electric cell, a selectivelyoperated switch mechanism is provided, which mechanism is operated inaccordance with the effect produced on the cell and in accordance withthe position of the movable contact member 131 relative to the contactsof the selector. Then the movable contact member 131 is opposite a smallcontact point 132, or any of the other contact points 132 correspondingto the said contact point, then the selecting device will be actuated soas to turn the switch to the same position, that is, if contact. 1 ofany one set of contacts 132 is connected with a contact 133 by means ofthe movable c 'ontact 131, the same effect will be produced as if anyother contact` 1 of any other set is connected with the contact 133opposite the same by the movable contactmember 131, and in a similarmanner the same is true of the contacts 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The switch mechanism comprises a movable switch member 221 which ispivoted to the track carryingplate at 222, and which is provided with arearwardly extending iinger 223 and with a forwardly extending portion224 havingy a guide groove or track 225 therein. Said switch is alsoprovided with a laterally extending arm 226 to which is attached thecoil spring 227, which is also attached to the framework at 228. As willbe clear from Fig. 4 the spring 227 tends to hold the switch member 221to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4. The gear 35 is providedwith a ring 229 which is provided with teeth 23() in the form of camsthat are adapted to engage with a roller 231 provided on an arm 232extending in a direction substantially opposite to the arm 226. As theroller 231 reaches the high portion 232 of the tooth 225,`the switch ismoved to the full line position shown in F ig. 4, thus the switch has aswinging movement from the dotted line to the full line position atevery engagement of a tooth with the roller, one of said teeth engagingwith the roller at each forward step of the gear and turntablestructure. The switch would return immediately to the dotted lineposition due to the vforked end 238, the two tines of which extendaround the narrow neck portion 239 of the stop pin 240, said pin beingprovided with a head 241 at the lower end thereof, as will be clear fromFig. 6. Tf the electromagnet 143 is actuated by the selector thearmature 234 will be drawn upwardly and the stop pin 240 will beproject-ed upwardly beyond the`-plate 67, as will be clear from Fig. 6.In a similar manner the coil 146 is provided with a pivoted armature 242and the electromagnet 151 with a pivoted armature 243 and theelectromagnet 154 with a pivoted armature 244, said armatures engagingwith the stop pins 245, 246 and 247 in a similar manner as the armature234 engages with the stop pin 240.

It. will be evident that when the movable contact 131 is opposite anycontact 5 of the contact 132, the `solenoid 154 will actuate the stoppin 247 which will then be in the path of movement of the arm 223 andwill hold the switch in the full line position shown in Fig. 4.Similarly if the movable contact is opposite the Contact No. 4, thesolenoid 151 will be actuated to move the stop pin 246 into the path ofmovement of the arm 223 and arrest the movement thereof as the same isbeing returned to the dotted line position in Fig. 4 by the'spring 227at such an angle that the groove 225 will be in alignment with the trackor groove 219, while if the solenoid 146 is energized due to the factthat the movable Contact 131 is opposite a contact No. 3, the stop pin245 will be projected so as to arrest the return movement of the switchwhen the groove 125 thereof is opposite the central track 218, andsimilarly the solenoid 143 will be energized to project the stop pin 240when the movable Contact member 131 is opposite a contact No. 2 toosition the groove 225 so as to lead into t e track 217, while it themovable contact 131 is opposite a Contact No. 1, none of the solenoidswill be energized, as this contact is in circuit with the wire 139, andthe springpwill draw the switch member to the dottedline position shownin Fig. 4, or align the groove 225 thereof with the innermost track 216.Thus, the guide roller ,or projection 215 will be guided into anydesired track in accordance with the selection of the selecting device.Due to the position of the guide roller 215 relative to the pivot 53,the article carrier will be at its extreme angular position tothe leftof the radial when looking outwardly from the lcenter of the machinewhen the roller is' inv portion 249, which lead to the common track 250which is a continuation of the central track 218. The roller 215 willstill be in the track 250 when the switch is actuated by the selectingdevice, and upon a further movement of the step by step mechanism theroller enters the groovel 225 and from said groove 225 enters any one ofthe tracks in accordance with. the selection of the selecting device.The switch operates in a depression 251 in the plate 67 and a curvedshoulder 252 is provided at the forward end of the switch member toaccommodate the member 224. The switch is also provided with a shoulder253 which is adapted to engage with the shoulder 254, formed at theopposite end of the depression 251 to limit the movement l lof theswitch due to the action of the spring 227. A leather stop member 255 isalso provided which engages with the side face 256 ofthe member 224 tolimit the movement of the member due to the action of the spring and todeaden any noise that would be caused by the sudden engagement of theshoulder 254 and the shoulder 253. It is necessar in orderv to properlyoperate the switch t at the stop pins 240, 245, 246 and 247 be reset orrretracted to their lowermost position after each actuation of theswitch.

For this purpose the'cam 257 is provided on the shaft 40, said cam 257cooperating with the roller 258 on the lever 259 pivoted at 2 60to thebracket 261, said lever 259 being provided with the downwardly inclinedportion 262 and with a horizontally extendarm 263, which is adapted Vtopass over 1n allgof the armatures thatare associated with the solenoids143, 146,151 and 154, said arm being shown as passing over the armature234 in Fig. 6. It will be seen that as the high part 264 of the cam v257engages with the roller 258 that the lever is moved upwardly at the endat which the roller is located so that the portion 263 thereof will bemoved downwardly so as to pull the pivoted armatures downwardly and thestop pins along therewith dueto the heads 241 and the forked ends 238 onthe armatures.- The `contact member 131 being small and the `currentspassing through the same being c'omparatively large, it is necessarythat a good contactl be made mechanically between the movvable contact131 and the contacts 132 and 133 opposite, the same before the currentis allowedlttoy pass through the same. IF or this operating therewith aroller 270 provided on the movable member 271 by means of which thecontacts are permitted to move into engagement in theselectingdevice272, the details of said selecting device not being shown in thepresent application. The cam 266 is provided with a lateral projectionv273 which is adapted to engage with the head 274 on the lever 275pivoted at 276 to the framework of the machine, said lever 276 operatingan electric switch mechanism 277 so as to close the circuit when themember 273 engages with the member 274, said switchbeing normally heldopen by means of any suitable device, such as a spring, when the member273'is not in contact with the member 274.

Upon reference to Fig. 3, it will beseen that the member before the lowportion 269 of the-cam 265 has passed the roller 270 and considerablyprior to the time that the roller travels up the inclined portion 268and onto the high part of the cam,\thus the mechanical contact is madeprior to the closing of the electrlcal circuit and the mechanicalcontact is not broken until after the electrical circuit has again beenbroken. The machine is provided with a. receiving member 278 which ispositionedA outwardly beyond the path of movement of the articlecarriesand slightly below the same, said receiving member being providedwith vertically extending partitions 279 providing receptacles 280therebetween there being one of said receptacles for each angularposition of Said article carrier at each sorting station. Thus, thearticle carriers discharge their contents into a receptacle 280 inaccordance with the selection of the selecting device. All that isnecessary in order to sort articles by the machine described is to closethe proper electrical circuit by means of switches provided for thispurpose; to lill the hopper with cigars that are to be selected and tooperate the lever 45 by means of the handle 281, which is provided witha locking dog 282 operated by means of the lever 283 for holding thesame in closed position, said lever 45 operating the clutch aspreviously described.

Havin @ius described my invention, what I esire to claim and secure byU. S. Letters Patent is: v n

.1. In a machine of the character described, a selecting device, meansfor moving articles into the range of Said selecting device, a pluralityof article carriers adapted to receive thearticles from said means, andmeans vfor dumping said carriers at stations selected by said selectingdevice, to sort said articles.

73 has left the member 274 2. In a machine of the character deseribed,

. means for selecting articles'in accordance with the color thereof, amember for moving articles into the range of said selecting means, aplurality of article carriers adapted to receive the articles from saidmember, and means for dumping said carriers at lstations selected bysaid selecting device, to sort said articles according to color.

3. In a machine of-the character described, an electrically operatedphotometricselecting device, means for moving articles one at a timeinto cooperative relation With saidselecting device, a plurality ofcarriers receiving articles from said means, and means operated by saidselecting device whereby said carriers will deposit articles atpredetermined points to sort said articles in accordance with the amountof light reflected therefrom.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a photo-electriccell, a selecting device electrically operated thereby, means for movingarticles into the range of said cell to thereby operate said selectingdevice, means for receiving said articles after said articles haveaffected said cell to operate said-se1ecting device and for moving saidarticles to a plurality of stations, and means controlled by saidselecting device for depositingsaid articles at a selected station inaccordance with the eEect produced thereby on said cell.

5. A machine of the character described comprising a photo-electriccell, a selecting device electrically operated thereby. means for movingarticles into the range of said cell to thereby operate said selectingdevice, means for receiving said articles after said articles haveaffected said cell to operate said selecting device and for moving saidarticles to a plurality of' stations. and-means controlled by saidselecting device for actuating said last mentioned vmeansI to depositsaid articles at a selected station in accordance with the effectproduced thereby on said cell.

6. A machine of the character `described comprising a photo-electriccell, a. single selecting device operated thereby, means for movingarticles into the range of said cell to thereby operate said selectingdevice.

means for receiving said articles after saidv articles have affectedsaid cell to operate said selectlng device and for moving sald articlesto a pluralityof stations, andl means controlled by said selectingdevice for depositing said articles at a selected station in accordancewith the effect produced thereby on sald cell.

7. In a machine of the character described, a selectingdevice, means formoving artl- Vcles one at a time into position to; operate saidselecting device, a plurality of article carrier s ..adapted toireceivethe articles from said means, said carriers being normally held inarticle carrying position, means for releasing said carriers to dumpsaid articles at a plurality of points, and means operated by saidselecting` device for operating any one of said releasing means todischarge the article carried by a carrier at a selected point.

8. In a machine of the character described, a selecting device, meansfor moving articles one at a time into position to operate saidselec-ting device, a plurality of article carriers adapted to receivethe articles from said means, said carriers being normally held inarticle carrying position, means for releasing said carriers -to dumpsaid articles at a`plurality of points, and means operated by saidselecting device and associated With said carriers for operating any oneof said releasing means to discharge the article carried by a carrier ata selected point.

9. In a machine of the character described, a selecting device, meansfor moving articles one at a time intoA position to operate saidselecting device, a plurality of article carriers adapted to receive thearticles from said means, said carriers being normally held in articlecarrying position, means for releasing said carriers to dump saidarticles at a plurality of points, means operated by said selectingdevice and associated with said carriers for operating any one of saidreleasing means to discharge the article carried by a. carrier at aselected point, and means for returning said last mentioned means toinoperative position.

'10. In a machine of the character described. a ho )per ada ted tocontain a plurality ot' artidles of di erent colors. said hopper beingprovided With a feeding device, a selecting device. means for receivingarticles one at a time from said feeding device and moving the same intothe range of said selecting device` a plurality of article carriersadaptcdto rece-ive said articles from said means. and means for dumpingsaid carriers at stations selected by said selecting device to dischargesaid articles at selected stations by the action of gravity.

ll. In a machine of the character described. a. selecting device. aplurality of article carriers` means for moving'a plurality of articlesone` at a time into the range of said selecting device, a support fornormally holding said carriers in article carrying position, saidsupport being movable out of supporting position at each of a pluralityof discharge stations along the path of movement of said carriers andmeans for moving said support out ofsupporting position selectivelycontrolled by said selecting device, whereby each of said carriers isreleased to discharge its contents i at a selected station.

12. In a machine of the character described, a selecting device, aplurality of article carriers, means for moving a plurality of articlesone at a time into the range of said selecting devl e, a support fornormally holding said carriers in article carrying position, saidsupport being movable out of supporting position at each of a pluralityof discharge stations along the path of movement of said carriers, meansfor moving said support out of supporting position, and means controlledby said selecting device for setting said last mentioned means so as todump said carrier at any station selected by said selecting device.

13. In a machine of the character described, a selecting device, aplurality of article carriers, means for moving a plurality of articlesone at a time into the range of said selecting device, a support fornormally holding said carriers in article carrying position, saidsupport being movable out of supporting position at each of a pluralityof discharge stations along the path of movement of said carriers, meansyfor moving said support out of supporting position, and meanscontrolled by said selecting device for setting said last mentionedmeans so as to dump said carrier at any station selected by saidselecting device, said support being provided with means for returningsaid carriers to article carrying position. l

14. In amachine of the character` described, a plurality of articlecarriers, a support for holding said carriersin carrying position, aselecting device, a member for moving articles one vat a time into therange of said selecting device, said support being movable out ofsupporting position at each of a plurality of discharge stations alongthe path of movement of said carriers, actuating means for moving saidsupport out of supporting position, said actuating means comprising aplurality of members each of which is adapted to cooperate with meansassociated with each of said carriers and with means onsaid support atone of said stations to move said support, and means controlled by saidselecting device to operate a selected one of said members so as todischarge the contents of said article carriers at stations selected bysaid selecting device.

15.'In a machine of the character described, a selecting device, meansfor movmg articles into the range of said selecting device, a pluralityof article carriers adapted to receive the articles from said means,

and means for dumping said carriers at stations selected by saidselecting device, to sort said articles, said selecting device beingprovided with means whereby all articles out of the .range of selectionsof said selecting device are discharged from said machine.

16. `In a machine of the character described, a cigar holding hopper, aplurality of cigar carriers arranged in a circular series and adapted torotate about a common center in a step by step movement, a selectingdevice, means for feeding cigars from said hopper to said carriers, saidfeeding means comprising a member for moving said cigars one at a time"into the range of said selecting device, whereby said carriers areadapted to discharge the cigars therefrom at stations selected by saidselecting device. f

17. In a machineof the character described, an article holding hopper, aplurality of carriers each adapted to support an larticle thereon, aselecting device, means for feeding said articles from said hopper oneat a time and moving the same into cooperative relation with saidselecting device, said carriers being arranged in a circular series andbeing adapted to rotate about a common center in a step by stepmovement, and receiving said articles from said means after saidarticles leave said selecting device, said carriers being adapted todump the articles carried thereby at a plurality of stations along theirpath of movement, and means operated by said selecting device, wherebysaid carriers discharge said articles at the stations selected thereby.

18. In `a machine of the character described, an article holding hopper,a plurality of carriers each adapted to support an article thereonarranged in a circular series and adapted to rotate about a commoncenter in a step by step movement, a selecting device in juxtapositionto said carriers, av single carrier adapted to receive articles one at atime from said hopper, move said articles into cooperative relation withsaid selecting device and deliver said articles to a carrier of saidcircular series, and means operated by said selecting device, wherebysaid carriers discharge said articles at the stations selected thereby.

19. In a machine of the character described, an article holding hopper,a pluralityl of carriers each adapted to support an article thereonarranged in a circular series and adapted to rotate about a commoncenter, a selecting device in -juxtaposition to said carriers, a singlecarrier adapted to receive articles one at a time from said hopper, movesaid articles into cooperative relation with saidselecting device anddeliver said articles to a carrier of said circular series, and meansoperated by said selectin device, whereby said carriers discharge saiarticles at the stations selected thereby.

20. Iln a machine of the character described, a plurality' of articlecarriers, a support for holding said carriers in carrying position, saidsupport being provided with portions movable out of supporting position`tioned means so as to remove the support from said article carriers atany point selected by said selecting device.

21. In a machlne of the character described, a plurality of .articlecarriers, a sup- -of points along the port for holding said carriers incarrying position, said support being provided With portions movable outof supporting position to dump said carrier located at a plurality pathof movement of said carriers, a selectlng device, means for movin saidarticles into cooperative relation with said selecting device andfeeding the same to said carriers, means for moving any one of vsaidmovable portions out of supporting position and means controlled by saidselecting device to set said last mentioned means so as to remove thesupport from said 'article carriers at any point selected by saidselecting device, said support being provided with means for returningsaid article carriers-to article carrying position. l

22. In a machine of the character de- -scribed, a plurality of articlecarriers, a supportior holding said carriers in carrying position, saidsupport being provided with portions movable out ot supporting positionto dump said carriers located at a plurality of points along the path ofmovement ot said carriers, a selecting device, means for movin saidarticles into cooperative relation Wlth said selecting device andfeeding the same to said carriers, actuating means associated With eachof said carriers for moving any one of said movable portions out ofsupporting position, said actuating means comprising a plurality ot'members, each of which is adapted to cooperate with means on one of saidmovable portions to move the same out of supporting positiorn,

position to dump said carriers located at a plurality of points alongthe path of movement of said carriers, a selecting device, means formoving said articles into cooperative relation with said selectingdevice and feeding the same to said carriers, actuating means associatedwith each of said carriers for moving any one of said movable portionsout or' supporting position, said actuating means comprisinga pluralityof members, each of which is adapted to cooperate with means on oneofsaid movable portions to move the same out of supporting position, andmeans controlled by the selecting device to operate a selected one ofsaid members so as to discharge the contents of the article carrierassociated therewith at the point selected by said selecting device, oneofsaid movable portions being actuated by one of said members todischarge all of the articles out of the range of said selecting devicefrom the machine.

24. In a machine of the character def scribed, a selecting device, meansfor moving articles into the range of said selecting device, a pluralityof article carriers adapted to receive the articles from said means, andmeans for dumping said carriers at stations selected by said selectingdevice, to sort said articles, said carriers being mounted so as toselectively discharge their contents in a plurality station.

- 25. ln a ,machine of the character described, a selecting device,means for moving articles into the range of said selecting device, aplurality of article carriers adapted to receive the articles from saidmeans, and means for, dumping said carriers at stations selected by saidselecting device, to sort said articles, said carriers'being mounted soas to selectively discharge their contents in a plurality of directionsat each sorting station, and meanscontrolled by said selecting devicefor determining the direction of discharge of said carriers.

26. ln a machine of the character described, a selecting device, meansfor moving articles into the range of said selecting device, a pluralityof article carriers adapted to receive the articles from said means, andmeans for dumping said carriers at stations selected by said selectingdevice, to sort said articles, said carriers being mounted so as toIassume a plurality of angular positions, the position of said carriersbeing controlled by said selecting device, whereby said carriers areadapted to discharge the contents thereof in a plurality of diti'erentdirections at each sorting station, to sort said articles into aplurality of groups at each ot said stations.

27. In a machine of the character described. a selecting device, aplurality of article carriers, means for moving` a plurality of articlesoneat a time into the range of said selecting device, a support Jfornormally holding said carriers vin article carrying position, saidsupport being movable .out of supporting position at each of a pluralityof directions at each sorting

